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2018 Oscar predictions: ‘Phantom Thread’ has Best Costume Design all sewn up

Go ahead and stitch engrave the Best Costume Design Oscar for “Phantom Thread” now. Paul Thomas Anderson’s sartorial drama is the 2/9-odd favorite to take home the award, according to our latest predictions. It’s out front against “Beauty and the Beast” (15/2 odds), “The Shape of Water” (25/1 odds), “Darkest Hour” (66/1 odds) and Victoria and Abdul (66/1 odds).

If “Phantom Thread” were to only convert one of its six nominations into a win, it makes complete sense it’d be this one. The movie is about a persnickety high-end fashion designer in 1950s London and it’s filled frame to frame with Reynolds Woodcock’s (Daniel Day-Lewis) breathtakingly posh, gorgeous gowns, created Oscar winner Mark Bridges (2011’s “The Artist”). The House of Woodcock could rival any real-life fashion empire.

But not everyone thinks it’s a done deal for “Phantom Thread.” Expert Grae Drake (Rotten Tomatoes), Editors Matt Noble and Rob Licuria, and Top 24 User soxterix, who was among the top predictors last year, are backing “Beauty and the Beast”‘s costumes by Oscar winner Jacqueline Durran (2012’s “Anna Karenina”), who’s also nominated for “Darkest Hour.” The live-action remake could definitely win if academy members are voting for the “most” costume design. “Beauty and the Beasts”’ ornate costumes — Belle’s (Emma Watson) gold gown alone — have the edge there and could follow in the footsteps of past ostentatious winners like “Anna Karenina,” “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2007), “The Duchess” (2008), “The Young Victoria” (2009) and “Alice in Wonderland” (2010).

Expert Erik Davis (Fandango) is the sole pundit predicting “The Shape of Water” and its 1960s garb. If the film is as much a Best Picture frontrunner as we think it is, it could sweep some below-the-line categories along for the ride, kind of like the way “The Artist” bagged this category six years ago.

Be sure to make your Oscar predictions so that Hollywood insiders can see how their films and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before winners are announced on March 4. And join in the fierce debate over the 2018 Oscars taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our movie forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.